Signal-lantern



A u I A 1 1 4 1 A u G. SKINNER. Signal-Lantern.

Patented Jan.13, 1880.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE SKINNER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO. J

SIGNAL-LANTERN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 223,548, dated January13, 1880.

, Application filed November 20, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE SKINNER, of Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain Improvements inRailway-Signal Lanterns, which improvements are fully set forth in thefollowing specification and accompanying drawings, in which Figure l isa perspective view of a lantern with a portion of case broken out toshow interior construction. Fig. 2 is a vertical section. Fig. 3 is adetached view of one of the flags.

The object of this invention is to enable the operator to see that theflag is down without the necessity of going out and looking at the broadside of the lantern containing the windows.

The invention consists in providing the narrow side of the lantern,facingtoward the building inwhich the operator is located, with win(lows, and also providing the flags with side wings, which, when theflags are down, bring said wings opposite'to said windows, whereby theoperator is enabled to see whether the flags are lowered or raised bylooking through the narrow side windows of the lantern.

In the drawings, A represents the case of the lantern, containing thelamp and the working parts. The case is provided with two doors, 8 B, oneach of its broad sides, the lower doors, B, having transparent-glasspanels, and in one narrow side of. the case two narrow glass windows, 0G, are provided be low.

On the inside surface of the narrow sides of the case are made groovesor waysd d, near to the doors B B, in which the frames of flags D Dslide, being operated by cords E E, attached to their upper edge andpassing over pulleys F and G in the top part of the frame, and extendingto and into a building or office, where the operator can operate andcontrol them. Said flags consist of light frames covered with ared-colored pa-rtially-transparent material, which, when brought downbefore the lamp, causes a colored light to appear through the aforesaidglass door-panels. To one side of said flag-frames are attached bysuitable means narrow wings H H, of similar material as the flags, whichare carried up and down with the flags whenever they are moved, and,when down, cover the inside of the narrow windows 0 0.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when the flags are lowered thewings on their sides display their surfaces through the narrow sidewindows, 0 G, which are facing to ward the building or office of theoperator, and thus indicate that they (the flags) are down, as desired.Thebroad sides of thelantern,facing up and down the railroad-track, areout of view to the operator, who would be obliged, without the use ofthe said side windows, O (J, and the side wings, H H, to go outside toassure himself that the flags had moved as he desired, which, in someinstances, would be very inconvenient, as the oflice might be locatedsome distance from the lantern.

This device is not confined to night-service alone, but is equallyadapted to day-service, as the partitionwvhich divides the lanterncentrally shows a white surface by either lamplight or daylight.

Having described my invention, I claim- In railway-signal lanternshaving the flags D D arranged to be operated by means of the cords E E,passing over the pulleys F G, the combination, with said flags, of thewings H through the narrow side windows, O O, substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

GEO. SKINNER.

Witnesses:

E. M. WHITLOCK, J. B. MGKIM.

H, for indicating the position of the flags.

